Join Our Group

Worthy Causes

WORTHY CAUSES SUPPORTED BY NEWCOMERS

Newcomers isn't just about socializing. We also support the following worthy causes. Learn more about each cause and what Newcomers Members (you!) have accomplished through the generous collection of donations.

AVLONA JUVENILE DETENTION CENTRE (Di Drymoussis)

Originally a military prison - the Juvenile Prison at Avlona, 45 km
northeast of Athens, was remodelled in the early 90s for civilians and was
intended for approx 100 inmates. Mainly Greek and Greek Roma juveniles were
transferred from Athens’ main prison at Korydallos and relatives provided
clothing and other support as needed.

However, over the past 20
years or so, the prison populations all over the country started to escalate,
filling up to bursting with immigrants, both legal and illegal. When I began
volunteering in the summer of 2010 there were 400+ housed in Avlona, but by
2017 the number has halved to approximately 200± young males between the ages
of 17 to 21 yrs. In addition, there is a handful of older, responsible inmates
who have been transferred from adult prisons providing useful services
(plumber, electrician, etc) and they stay in a separate section.

Approximately 70% of the
inmates are non-Greek with no family support. Most are serving sentences for
petty crime or are awaiting trial – it can take as long as two years before
being brought to court for trial and sentencing! Unless they are already
enrolled in the prison school programme, if they have not finished serving
their sentence, on reaching 21yrs they will be sent on to adult prisons such as
Korydallos. The prison school is run by dedicated teachers who inspire,
encourage and are loved by their students. Many of these guys – for any number
of reasons - did badly at school but now have the chance to remedy their past
performance and with the encouraging support of the teaching staff realise they
are not as ‘stupid’ as they had been made to believe! Indeed, the number of
guys passing for university has averaged three or four per year, over the past
few years.

The generosity of Newcomers members and a few special donors, has enabled
the provision of shelving and books for a foreign books library in the school;
a number of clothes washer/dryer machines, cool air fans for the summer and hot
air fans for winter for the cells; an industrial floor-cleaning machine; an
electric guitar, speakers and microphones; 9 midi-ovens; dozens of used 14” TVs
(sadly now out of commission); and for the gym that the then director set up: 3
cycles, two punch bags and a bench/weights set.Countless sacks of clothing and shoes, bedding and toiletries continue
to be delivered at least monthly – most of which are kindly provided by our
Newcomers members. There is a great deal of satisfaction knowing that
Newcomers has helped improve – even in a small way – the lives of at least some
of these young guys and I am grateful that support continues .

AG. ANNA ORPHANAGE (Laura Foti-Liverakos)

The girls orphanage “Agia Anna” was set up 40 years ago to provide spiritual, material, and social support to young girls who had no parents. In the past 40 years, the orphanage has supported over 250 children in many different ways. Specifically, the orphanage has provided shelter, food, clothing, health and educational services to these children as needed. The orphanage receives donations from Newcomers monthly of food, and toiletries, and received gift donations for Christmas. Thank you newcomers, for your support and donations.

PAMMACARISTOS (Chrisula Kolokouris)

Located in Nea Makri, Pammacaristos is a school and
orphanage for children and young (at heart) adults who have mental handicaps -
primarily autism. There are 24 girls in the orphange and 130 day students
in the workshops. There is a ceramic workshop, a catering workshop, and a
crafts workshop among others where the students make items to sell. Please keep
in mind that the workshops can use all kinds of materials you might no longer need
such as old jewellery, ribbons, materials, buttons,etc. There are another 200
students who attend the special public school on the premises.

Pammacaristos is one of the only places in Greece which provides a place
for especially autistic young people to interact with one another and learn
self-help skills. For the children and young people who go there, Pammacaristos
is their home, it's the one place where they truly belong.

Newcomers has played a part in helping Pammacaristos over the past 15
years. Many members have helped individually by running in the marathon,
donating money, goods, and time. Newcomers as a body helped pay for the
restoration of one of the rooms in the orphanage, the air-conditioners in the
workshops, a sink and cupboards in the ceramics workshop, a water-heater for
one of the bathrooms in the orphanage and together with Habitats for Humanity
we painted the main building which had not been painted since originally built
in 1953.

The monthly donations from Newcomers of
clothing and toilet articles go a long way towards providing for these girls
who have no families. At one point – in the summer of 2016 - it looked
very much as though Pammakaristos would have to close as they were financially
unable to pay their employees and pay the expenses of running the
Foundation. However, a new president was elected to the board who
did an amazing job of reorganizing and restructuring the running of the
institution and getting it back on track. The teachers have begun to get
paid something every month. He has worked on getting funding and has been
able to find benefactors.

They are SO grateful to Newcomers. Whenever I go there they never
fail to mention it.

The ANGLICAN CHURCH in Greece (The Rev. Deacon Chris
Saccali)

Here since 1843, and serving
the whole of Greece, the Anglican Church in Greece is totally self-supporting,
relying entirely on donations to keep its doors open and continue its valuable
services to the community.

Donations brought to the
Newcomers meetings are much appreciated. Used books, quality clothing are
welcomed throughout the year. Other items (eg quality knick-knacks) are
welcomed from September onwards to raise funds from the Annual (longest
running) Christmas Bazaar held in Zappeion.

Regular Coffee mornings are
held
- Proceeds benefit the Anglican Chaplaincy and its
nominated charities:

To find out more about how you
can help and contribute to our work in Greece amongst those in need, as well as
our active Refugee Programme working in conjunction with the Us Mission
Agency UK http://www.weareus.org.uk) and Churches Together in Greece
(which includes the Salvation Army).

Take a look at our exciting
new Website and Facebook page, “Anglican Church in Greece.”

The Deaf and
Hard-of-Hearing Boarding School in Drosia, a northern suburb of Athens, houses
approximately 17 boys and girls, aged between 15 and 25. The students who
live there hail from surrounding villages and islands in Greece. The
boarding school serves as their home, while they attend special schools for the
deaf in the center throughout the school year.

I became involved with
the boarding school after moving to Greece in 2013. I began by
volunteering to teach American Sign Language (ASL) to the students, which
evolved to include fundraising efforts and organizing enrichment
programs. The school has limited resources and services, and Newcomers'
assistance over the years has become integral in bridging this gap.

While Newcomers has
provided support to the school long before my arrival, for the last two years
they have provided equipment and materials to support a photography workshop,
two cooking workshops of six weeks each and two ASL classes of roughly eight
weeks each. These enrichment programs pair the students with
professionals to further inspire them, give them a better understanding of what
these jobs entail and help these teenagers raise their expectations of
themselves, thus preparing them for life beyond high school. Moreover,
every month members of Newcomers donate much needed school supplies, to include
paper, pens, notebooks, backpacks and the like to the school.

I continue to be
touched by Newcomers’ interest in the children and their unwavering commitment
to changing the trajectory of these childrens’ lives. Thank you
Newcomers!